As a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I was very excited for the newest movie; Eternals. I was not sure what to expect going into the theater, because I had heard quite a lot of negative reviews from critics, but I was pleasantly surprised and actually really enjoyed the film. It has its flaws, but it is nowhere near as bad as some of the early reviews made it out to be.

Quick spoiler-free summary: A race of immortal beings who have been living on Earth for thousands of years reunite to fight against the evil Deviants, who were thought to have been eradicated long before. 

Every single performance from the main cast was fantastic. The most memorable in my opinion were Barry Keoghan, Kumail Nanjiani, Brain Tyree Henry, and Lauren Ridloff, though everyone else was also amazing. Even though this is the first time we are meeting these characters, they are supposed to have known each other for thousands of years and the performances from the actors really help convince the audience that this group of people have known each other and fought by each other’s sides for those thousands of years. The relationship between Gemma Chan’s Sersi and Richard Madden’s Ikaris was great, but I think that Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari and Barry Keoghan’s Druig absolutely outshone them. I could talk about their relationship forever. Their screen time together was small, but in every second of it you could feel the depth of their feelings and the extent that they care about each other, and it could not have been conveyed without Ridloff and Keoghan’s performances. Lia McHugh, Don Lee, Angelina Jolie, and Salma Hayek also had their moments to shine, and Kit Harrington’s short amount of screen time made me very excited for the future of his character in the MCU. 

The film was also visually beautiful. Director ​​Chloé Zhao is well known for previously directing the film Nomadland, which won an Academy Award for best directing and another for best picture. Because of her direction, Eternals felt unlike any other Marvel film so far. It was still a superhero movie but it felt more sophisticated somehow, which is not to say that the others are not sophisticated. It felt like more than just another Marvel movie, and I really think that Zhao’s style of direction plays a large role in that. Regardless, I love the way this film looks and I hope that they have Zhao return to direct the sequel. 

Overall I enjoyed this film much more than I had anticipated, and the more I sit here and think about it the more I realize how much I like it. All the characters were well written, the actors gave great performances, it looked beautiful, and it added even more to the vastness of the MCU while setting up even more to come in the future. I understand some of the flaws that have been pointed out, but I still think that it is very enjoyable and a great addition to the MCU. Some of the lore was altered from the comics but I have no issues with the changes, and if anything I think they are quite interesting. If you are a Marvel fan but have been afraid to see this movie because of the reviews, I still recommend that you see it just to see it, and like with every Marvel movie, make sure you stay for both the mid credit scene and the end credit scene!